Based on an award-winning and international best-seller, first-person narrative non-fiction book about using dreams and intuitions to survive cancer three times when conventional medical scientific information failed to find it. It's a true story that may change your belief system and possibly shake it to its foundations.
We are never alone in our hours of need and this has never been more evident than in my story.

Saturday, June 30, 2012

I admit, I am now obsessed with
my hair after having lost it twice to cancer treatment. Now, I only use the best
products available that are healthy and also environmentally safe, which means
“green.”

Fortunately, with the current trend in environment
and health awareness, there are more
choices in safe shampoos. Some do more than clean your hair. They nourish,
strengthen, and protect it in ways non-organic and some “natural” shampoos do
not.

What is the difference between commercial, natural,
and organic shampoos?100% pure may not be 100% organic, and that can be a
problem.

·Organic shampoo is
free of dyes, chemicals, synthetic ingredients or other potentially harmful irritants
that could damage your hair or the environment.

·All
natural formulas do not contain synthetic chemicals, artificial fragrances,
chemical preservatives, sulfates or other detergents that can strip or
dehydrate hair, but they may not be organic.

·Organic
may be natural as well, but the ingredients
are also organic.

According to the Center for Science in the Public
Interest (CSPI), some of the preservatives used to protect products can
actually harm humans.The consumer
industry sells harmful items to us because its goal is to make products look
and smell appealing without thought to the products’ safety value. Buyer
beware!

Here are some ingredients
that we do not want in our hair
products and why.

Chemical preservatives- help shampoos last longer. Preservatives can be natural, like salt or sugar, or
complex chemicals manufactured in laboratories.

Synthetic chemicals- laboratory made
compounds that do not exist in nature. During WWII, chemists invented
plastics, pesticides, solvents, degreasers, insulators, and other materials.
There are now more than 100,000 synthetic chemicals on the market and in
commercial shampoos where they can be absorbed into our bodies.

Paraben- A study conducted by
the Department of Biology and Biochemistry of Brunel University in the UK found
that alkyl hydroxy benzoate preservatives (methyl-, ethyl-, propyl-, and
butylparaben) have the ability to mimic estrogen in the body. They believe that parabens absorbed through
the skin of pregnant women may act like an alien female hormone, affecting the
development of the fetus. Professor John Sumpter wrote an article in The
Independent expressing concern that parabens may play a role in explaining why
sperm counts in men have fallen and breast cancer is on the rise.

Sodium nitrate and nitrite- preservatives that help prevent
discoloration and unpleasant odor. Studies have linked absorbing them to
various types of cancer.

Sulfates- create the rich lather you get
from shampoos. Ammonium Laureth Sulfate (ALS), Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS),
Sodium Laureth Sulfate (SLES) and Myreth Sulfate are the most commonly used
sulfates in the shampoos. Research has shown that it damages hair follicles and
can result in hair loss.

Sulfites- preservatives and antioxidants
used to preserve color and to prevent unwanted bacteria from spoiling the
natural ingredients in shampoo. They occur naturally in foods. One in every
hundred people is sensitive or allergic to them. If you have asthma, your
chances of sulfite sensitivity are one in ten.

Here
are some healthy organic shampoos available in stores and online.

mim-MORROCCO
METHOD INT’Lwww.MorroccoMethod.com is pure, raw,
vegan holistic and organic. The four mim
shampoos address different hair types and embrace the four elements of water,
air, earth and fire. The Apple Cider Vinegar Shampoo embraces fire.

Organix
products http://www.organixhair.com/content/faq
are paraben, gluten,sodium and sulfate free, contain no lauryl or laureth sulfates. Products
may be purchased in stores and online from websites including: amazon.com,
cvs.com, walgreens.com, cosmeticsolutions.bizFor years this product was only available in select hair salons. Organix
will not bleach out colored or highlighted hair and are not treated on animals.

Miessence Organic Shampoo-http://www.buygreen.com/miessenceshampoo.aspxis a natural, organic, ultra-mild shampoo that is so safe it is edible. It
only uses certified organic cold-pressed and unrefined oils and therapeutic
grade herb and flower extracts that are cold-formulated so precious oils are
never exposed to damaging heat.

“A dream which
is not interpreted is like a letter which is not read.” ~The Talmud

There is almost always a point in the process of illness where logic,
reason, and medical expertise fails. It’s at this point a patient slips through
the cracks, sometimes never torecover.

I survived breast cancer twice that was missed by the medical community and
the conventional scientific tests on which they relied. I survived by using
something many in the medical field do not even acknowledge as being real—my
innate intuition and prophetic dreams.Listen to them. One day they may save your life, too.

Twice my female intuition and dreams encouraged me to self-advocate a course
of cancer testing, treatment and healing, often against hospital policy and the
vehement advice of my doctors. That is as lucky as winning the lottery two
times in a row. Luck had little to do with it. Devine intervention did. I
always worked with my doctors, but never forgot to self-advocate and make the
final decisions.

Dream therapy was part of my Integrative Medicine
which combined modern scientific treatments like surgery, chemotherapy and
radiation with complementary therapies such as dream, meditation and REIKI.We are far more than id, ego and super ego.
We are spirit beings inhabiting a physical body that is experiencing life.Dreams are doorways. When we are in crisis,
those doorways between realms become very active.

Connecting
to and treating spirit through dreams can transform the physical, emotional,
and spiritual lives of people living with chronic or life-threatening illness. Dreams
used in concert with medical treatment and meditation can alleviate stress;
reduce pain, anxiety, and other physical and emotional symptoms; and enhance
quality of life. Learn to use your inner power in dreams to heal yourself and
your doctors, especially during current times of change in the medical
industry.

Most dreams fall into seven categories that
can overlap- Daydreams- you are
awake but not focused on a task, Epic-a
soap opera or entertaining storybook you pick up and continue nightly while
asleep, Lucid-you know you are dreaming
andcan control the outcome, Nightmares-who can forget that
information! Recurring-because you
didn’t “get it” the first time or solve the problem, Healing-emotional or physical information, Prophetic-comes true and can be validated by scientific tests or
life events.

Dream worlds are unique to the dreamer. What
frightens one dreamer may enlighten another. A large snake in a dream may scare
someone with a fear of snakes but to another it may be the Kundalini- the
ultimate rising spiritual wisdom. Therefore, dream dictionaries based on
universal archetypes are helpful, but limiting. As dreamers becomes more in
tune with their inner-guidance, they will learn their own dream language.

If remembering or
understandingdreams is difficult, these
six easy steps will help you develop dream memory and comprehend your unique
dream language.

1.) Verbally voice an
intention to remember dreams before you sleep. This will train you not to
forget and subconsciously open the pathways to your guides and “physician-within.”

2.) Keep a notebook and
pencil beside your bed.Early morning
dreams are easier to recall .When you awaken, write anything you remember. If
you still have trouble, lie down in the same position you were in when you
awoke and try to think back to the dream.

3.) If a dream is still
allusive, describe your feelings when you first awoke—happy, sad, frightened or
content and write down colors that pop into your memory. Over time, dreams will
become longer as you begin to interface with yourself and your guides.

4.) If you are thinking
about a deceased family member when you awaken, write their name and
description. Chances are good that you saw them. They can give guided
information and transform your dream or nightmare into prophetic or healing information.
Family members are often given permission to return from the other side to
guide us during times of crisis. We don’t just dream about them. We interact
with them. They may appear younger or unrecognizable but will say or do
something to identify themselves. That is validation. Sometimes validation is
not immediate. It may come later from an event that jogs the memory.

5.) Give your dream a
title, even if it is The Dream I Can’t
Remember and categorize it. When some part returns during the day, jot it
down on a piece of paper and add it to your dream journal. If you “didn’t get
it” right you’ll probably have the dream again—a recurring dream.

6.) Trust but
validate. You don’t need to watch or search for validation. If you had a
prophetic dream, validation will present itself, possibly in the form of synchronicity;
a meaningful coincidence of multiple similar events that are unrelated.

My validation came in the form of surgery.
After multiple mammograms, blood tests, and physical exams over a three month
period, I should have been diagnosed with cancer, but wasn’t.My lump was invisible to the medical
community with whom I consulted.However, my persistent self-advocating after recurring prophetic dreams
told me I had cancer and to return to my doctor.Exploratory surgery found a spot that
couldn’t be felt and tests didn’t show existed. The result was a diagnosis that shocked the
medical community and changed my life, forever.

One of
my most pressing challenges throughout this ordeal was deciding whom to
trust—my doctors and their healthy scientific results, or my dreams and their
dire messages. I decided to listen to both! I requested specific medical
procedures and cross-checked them against my “guided information.”

I remember the exact
moment I received my validation.“Pathology didn’t like what they saw when they cut open the tumor,” my
surgeon said after closing the privacy curtain behind him.

“So, is
it cancer?” I asked, holding onto the hospital gurney to brace myself for the
answer I already suspected and feared.

So my
dreams had been right. The doctors and tests were wrong.With my surgeon’s words, the first shot of my
ensuing battle had been fired, and it was not a warning across my bow, it was
point-blank into my breast. I glanced down at my painful wound and wept.
Thus began
my Alice in Wonderland’s decent down the dark rabbit hole of breast cancer. The
good news is I survived because I self advocated and believed in my dreams.
They proved that we are never alone in our hour of need. Five years later, my
dreams saved my life a second time when my stage-four cancer was missed by
conventional tests.

Upon hearing my diagnosis of cancer, I felt
devastated, confused and alone. My diagnosis of recurrence was worse because I
knew what I would go through, again. Not only was my life threatened, but also
my quality of life. This disease leaves no belief system or relationship
unchallenged while turning your world upside down and shaking it to its very
foundations. My dreams were my saving-grace. They were a direct line to my
Higher Power.

Don’t tell your Higher Power how big your
troubles are—tell your troubles how big your Higher power is and believe in the
power of dreams—the celestial phone line.

Throughout both of my treatments, prophetic
and guided dreams urged me to be an active participant in my therapy. We seldom
get anywhere by standing on the sidelines of the game of Life and Death with
crossed fingers waiting for someone else to take action and make the right
decisions for us. Life is not a spectator sport.We are responsible for ourselves. I rolled up
my sleeves and jumped back into the game.

My physicians and I worked as a team and
taught each other important lessons. I learned that dreams do come true and
that there is more than one way to skin a cancer.My doctors learned to respect and listen to
their patients.

In my
dreams I met my doctor-within named Dr. Jules and my spirit guides who were
dressed in brown hooded robes and leather sandals. They taught me that we all
have spirit guides/guardian angels. We are their job. And, they take their job
seriously.

Meeting your doctor-within is a wonderful step
to dreaming yourself to wellness.

Sunday, June 3, 2012

My name is Kathleen O’Keefe-Kanavos and I am a woman on a double
mission; to tell my story and save lives, one person at a time.

As a two-time breast cancer survivor whose cancer was missed both
times by doctors and the tests on which they relied, I am determined to raise
awareness about the importance of self advocacy, and listening to our bodies.
We must balance our body and spirit with conventional and intuitive health practices
for total health and wellness. Early detection of any illness is always important
for complete healing.

I survived aggressive breast
cancer—twice—that was missed by physicians at the DanaFarber Cancer
Institute, in Boston Massachusetts and the scientific tests on which they
relied; three mammograms, blood tests and physicals.

While most
women would be glad to hear that they were healthy and to go home, I knew my
doctors words were incorrect and self advocated in order to live. I took chemo
and radiation Therapy. I always worked with my doctors but never forgot to make
the final decisions concerning my life.

My first cancer was
stage 2, the second was stage 4. The chances of dreams finding cancer missed by
“state of the art medical tests” twice
is as lucky as winning the lottery two times in a row. Luck had little to do
with it. Divine intervention did. Listen to your Physician- within. Don’t
tell your Higher Power how big your troubles are. She already knows. Tell your
troubles how big your Higer Power is.

It is my
goal to use my story to teach doctors how important it is for them to listen to
their patients and patients how important it is not to give up in the face of
adversity.

As an
author, radio co-host, R.A. BLOCH Cancer Foundation Hotline Counselor, Cancer
Question & Answer columnist, blogger for women’s online magazines and
cancer sites, and inspirational speaker at Cancer Groups and Health Freedom
Expos throughout the country, I am an advocate for organizations and movements
based on encouraging women to stand up and be heard. Don’t take “No” for an
answer and don’t be dismissed. Be a squeaky wheel until you are heard.

I
continue to be inspired by sotries of women listening to their female intuition
and becoming empowered by connecting with their physician-within.

We must find balance between our female intuition and conventional
medicine for a healing that is greater than the sum of its individual parts. We
are a combination of body and soul that uses conventional and spiritual
healing. Finding balance is as easy as loving both.